What Every First-time Hovawart Owner Should Know: Personality

This is a series of blogs about "What Every First-time Hovawart Owner Should Know", in which each subject is selected - and contributed to - by Hovawart owners.

Personality

Whether your Hovawart's personality is to be the clown of the house, the placid matriarch, the work-a-holic, or the clever manipulator, they all have something in common when it comes down to Personality.

They'll have a lot of it.

And as a finishing touch they were all given a super-sized spoon of independence, mixed with willpower.

In short: you will get run over by a tank and never know what hit you. The only thing that can help you is not to panic, remain consistent, be confident, keep the faith, and weapon yourself with a good dose of humor:

Verena S.: "Each day i have my personal cabaret at home thanks to our hovi. He makes me laugh each day because he has such a great and funny personality"

Katja K.: "I have had two Hovies and both had very different characters."

Jan W.: "One of my girls is very placid and calm - though still strong willed -, but the other is like a live wire outside."

Loes K.: "You do need a lot of humour or it is easy to get frustrated when they do something in their own way."

Judith L.: "They have a magnetic personality, are intelligent and funny like a clown."

Mary A.: "This is an intelligent breed. Be calm and confident in working with your dog and do not let the dog manipulate you into doing his bidding."

Silvia I.: "They are quite stubborn but also very sensible."

If you can't beat them, join them. Becoming a team is your key. Not the easiest to achieve, as your partner is independent and has willpower already as a puppy. When you start "contact" exercises early - rewarding them for any contact they make with you, either looking at you, coming towards you, etc. - that bond is nurtured from early on and will grow through time. It will lay the foundation for your partnership.

During the puppy and adolescent years, their favorite nickname is "Hurricane" or "Tornado". The good news is they will grow up one day. The bad news is, a Hovawart matures late, first when they are three years of age, they are considered adults. And even then, some simply refuse to grow up. Either way, they will remain playful for a long time to come.

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Coming up next: Training and excercise!

A big thanks to Africa, Jan Wolfe, Evelyn B., Peggy S., Yvonne B., Anna N., Katja K., Sascha L., Björn S., Loes K., Flora B., Verena S., Heini A., Dave H., Maria E., Judith L., Lone A., Mary A., Hester O., Ine C., Min I., Silvia I., for your contributions in selecting and contributing to the subjects.